Tuesday newspaper round-up: Private healthcare, Corn prices, Bank bonuses...
12th Oct 2010 06:32
Britain's private healthcare sector is under scrutiny from the Office of Fair Trading amid complaints from new players that the market is not sufficiently competitive. The regulator has conducted an initial inquiry and has not decided whether to pursue a full investigation. Circle, a relatively new
Read moreLondon open: Gains short-lived
4th Oct 2010 08:37
Renewed interest in the insurance sector and strong miners nudged London into positive territory, but Monday morning blues soon kicked in and stocks are now in the red. Reports in his morning's papers reveal RSA, Resolution, Switzerland's Zurich Financial Services and Germany's Allianz discussed mo
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Interest rates, RBS, Lloyds
4th Oct 2010 06:16
Sir John Gieve, the former deputy governor of the Bank of England, has stepped into the increasingly divided debate over monetary policy and urged the Bank not to print more money. Claims that Britain's economy was heading into a Japanese-style slump were far too pessimistic, Sir John said in an i
Read moreLloyds heads bank complaints list
30th Sep 2010 08:04
Lloyds accounted for more complaints than any other bank in the first half of the year, according to a list published by the City watchdog today. The part-nationalised bank received almost 289,000 grumbles from customers between January and June, 30,000 more than Barclays and 44,000 more than Sant
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: Banks, Ireland, Unilever
30th Sep 2010 06:29
Downing Street appeared to be snubbing the banking industry yesterday as it finalised a 16-strong panel of corporate grandees to advise the Prime Minister on business matters. While manufacturing, construction, utilities, retailing and small businesses are well represented, no one from the banking
Read moreLondon close: Footsie rallies after shaky start
24th Sep 2010 16:50
The roller coaster ride continued heading into the weekend, with shares rallying to finish with good gains following a drop in the morning. Shares have been jittery for most of the week, with traders unsure how to react to Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's comments on the US economy on Tuesd
Read moreLondon midday: Miners do the damage
24th Sep 2010 12:05
It's been a rollercoaster morning for London's blue chips, although pretty much all the volatility has happened in negative territory as miners struggle. HSBC, little changed at lunchtime, has hogged the headlines. Reports suggest that current chief executive Mike Geohegan will leave at the end of
Read moreLondon open: Heavyweights drag Footsie lower
24th Sep 2010 08:57
Footsie has opened lower with the heavyweight sectors of banks and miners both heading south. Speculation over the power struggle at the top of global banking giant HSBC has dominated early proceedings in London. Reports suggest that current chief executive Mike Geohegan will leave at the end of th
Read moreBanking Commission will consider bank splits
24th Sep 2010 08:00
A new body set up to examine how to improve stability and competiveness in the banking industry will ask 'hard questions' about how Britain's banks operate, its chairman said today in its first issue paper. The Independent Commission on Banking (ICB), which is chaired by economist Sir John Vickers,
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Banks and miners lower
23rd Sep 2010 16:45
Banks were lower on the day because of concerns about the Irish banking system and Lloyds led the way down. However, the banks did rally later in the day so their declines were more modest than in the morning. Miners also pared back some of their earlier falls due to lower commodity prices. Kazakh
Read moreLondon close: Late rally trims losses
23rd Sep 2010 16:40
London staged a last hour rally but didn't rise by enough to eliminate losses sparked by a weak start on Wall Street. News that Brazilian oil company Petrobas will launch a world record $78bn rights issue helped other oil companies. BP, Shell and Cairn all picked up near the close. Expectation t
Read moreLondon afternoon: US shadow increases London gloom
23rd Sep 2010 14:24
Expectations of a weak start on Wall Street, after poor US jobless data, sent London lower still over the lunch time session, with banks and miners continuing to feature prominently among the blue-chip fallers. Lloyds and Standard Chartered are the worst performing banking stocks as worries resur
Read moreSector movers: Irish banks under the cosh
23rd Sep 2010 12:58
Irish banks are sharply lower today as economic worries continue to plague the former Celtic tiger. New figures today show the debt-stricken country's economy shrank by between 1% and 2% between April and June. Allied Irish Banks is down 8% and Bank of Ireland is 6% lower. British banks are also u
Read moreLondon midday: Blue-chips in the red
23rd Sep 2010 12:12
London's blue-chips are beating a rapid retreat but second liners are having a slightly better time of it, though most are still in arrears. Banks and miners are prominent among the blue-chip fallers. Lloyds and Standard Chartered are the worst performing banking stocks while HSBC is also lower a
Read moreLondon open: Banks behind weak start
22nd Sep 2010 08:51
Reports that the government is mulling a new bank windfall tax has unsettled share prices this morning. Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, will say in a speech today that bankers present more of a threat to Britain than trade unions, adding that the corporate world is "murky" and that the capita
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